A-Z Challenge

Bugs Bunny

April 2, 2021 /

For the month of April, I am sharing with pencil illustrations of some memorable Looney Tunes cartoon characters, as I join a community of insane inspiring people who take part in the annual A to Z Challenge to connect with others in Blogosphere .  I’m certain while I’m figuring out which beloved animated figure I put on paper I will learn the identify of some I had long forgotten and perhaps meet some new ones that didn’t cross my path.

Warner Brother’s Looney Tune star is Bugs Bunny.  He was always my favorite cartoon character and I vividly recall watching The Bugs Bunny and Tweety show on Saturdays as a kid. Today I’m sharing an illustration of Bugs Bunny and his girlfriend Lola from 1996 Space Jam. 

Original pencil sketch

Bugs Bunny was created in 1930 by Leon Schlesinger Productions which we now know as Warner Brothers.  Mel Blanc was the voice of Bugs from 1940-1989 and is the one most of us know best. The wise crackin’, crafty little guy starred in more than 160 short cartoon productions and has made appearances in feature films, compilation films, TV series, music records, comics, video games, award shows, amusement park rides, and commercials.  He even has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  His significant others have included as noted his current affections for Lola but his first sweetheart was Honey Bunny (she’ll make a show on CAAC in a few days) who never appeared in any productions with bugs other than in comics and merchandise.  His only relative associated with the Looney Tunes series is his nephew, Clyde Bunny. 

Point of Interest:  At one time, I had a pen pal who was related to the late Mel Blanc.  It’s been too many years ago to recall the specifics to remember the kinship.  My pen pal was either the niece or granddaughter (could be great niece/granddaughter) to Blanc.  I thought that was very cool,though.  I wish I hadn’t lost track but pen palling is something I put to bed a long time ago and at times I regret having made this decision.

Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your day.  Please leave a direct link for today’s post in comments to ensure others can find an easy way back to you or at the very least make sure your Gravatar profile is updated with your active blog address.  I’m heading over to the A2Z headquarters to see who’s joined the party now.  I hope to see you again tomorrow for the next letter in the alphabet in my Looney Tunes Art Sketch series! X💋X💋 Cathy

Original pencil drawing Pixelmator Pro processed with ethereal filter #03. Click to enlarge image in new tab.

Alphabetical Looney Tunes Art Sketch series quick links:

51 Comments

  • Jeanne Bryan Insalaco

    April 3, 2021 at 4:10 pm

    Love your heart! I had lots of pen pals and kept all their letters in my scrapbook. I tried searching on Facebook several years ago for them and found one – we connected and I shared her letters to me back to her as she wanted to show her granddaughters. She lived in Hawaii

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 5, 2021 at 8:43 am

      Mike,

      LOL, “What’s up doc?” Bugs’ nonchalant phrase is easily identifiable with the Looney Tunes character without a second thought by most and has become a part of our own language. What fun! Thanks for visiting, my friend!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 5, 2021 at 9:04 am

      Tamara,

      Kids grow up too darn fast! The mobile sounds perfect to hang over a baby’s crib, though. I bet it was brightly colored and happy looking. 🙂

  • JEN Garrett

    April 2, 2021 at 6:57 pm

    Yeah, you can un-strikeout the ‘insane’ at least if you’re referring to me, lol. I actually have a Honey Bunny figurine, and I used to know her name but had forgotten until reading this post. Thank you!

  • 15andmeowing

    April 2, 2021 at 5:15 pm

    Those came out great. I used to pen pal when I was a teen and I wish I had stayed in touch with those people. XO

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 5, 2021 at 10:07 am

      Thanks, Ellen! I wish I had more interest in letter writing like I once did but new interests always replaces old ones sometimes short term and other times totally pushing them out of the picture.

  • Trudy

    April 2, 2021 at 2:42 pm

    I loved watching Bugs Bunny when I was a kid, and loved watching it my own kids years later. So beloved, that bunny.

  • Birgit

    April 2, 2021 at 2:03 pm

    I knew it had to be Bugs one of the most famous cartoon characters ever! I always loved how he outsmarted everyone else and one of my favourites is when he met up with Count Dracula. I, too, watched him when I was a kid and hated it when everything got censored. You did a great job with bugs and his current honey. You can feel the motion and the happiness they both exude. I just love it…La, La La Hocus Cadabra or is that Abraca pocus. 🙂

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 5, 2021 at 10:04 am

      Lee,

      There’s nothing like those old cartoons and it’s great that so many of my bloggy friends grew up watching them. They’ve been around a long time!

  • Rain Frances

    April 2, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    Looks great Cathy! 🙂 Of course, Bugs had other suitors when he dressed in drag lol…he is my hero. 🙂 Oh Mel Blanc…he did so many voices, he was on many radio shows back in the 1930’s-1950’s as well. I read his biography, he was a gentle genius! How cool that you knew someone related to him. Mel is someone I would have loved to have met in person! 🙂

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 5, 2021 at 10:03 am

      Rain,

      Bugs’ first girlfriend Honey Bunny does look like Bugs in drag and that’s why they changed his girlfriend for the 1996 Space Jam film because of that very reason. I’m glad to see they made Bugs girlfriend more feminine looking. I know Bugs did a few skits where he dressed up like a woman to fool other characters but it was obvious what was going on.

  • Lisa

    April 2, 2021 at 11:25 am

    Thanks for the history of Bugs as well as your cute drawing. I have never seen Space Jam (gasp!), so didn’t know he had a girlfriend!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 5, 2021 at 9:59 am

      Lisa,

      I have not seen Space Jam, either. I like the way his girlfriend Lola looks over Honey Bunny who looks too much like a female Bugs. 🙂

  • Kathe W.

    April 2, 2021 at 11:20 am

    I LOVE LOVE Looney Tunes! My fav as a kid and now too! Very fun choice Cathy! Cheers and drop by and see my A to Z on soup!

  • lissa

    April 2, 2021 at 11:19 am

    Lovely drawing. I love Bugs – he’s always the most fun character in the whole of looney tune in my opinion. I totally forgot about Lola. I think I prefer Bugs by himself.

    Have a lovely day.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 5, 2021 at 9:40 am

      Lissa,

      I agree, Bugs is the most fun and most lovable character! Lola as you know didn’t appear until 1996 but it’s possible I recall seeing her in some of the cartoon features my kids watched, though. I can’t swear to that, though. Thanks for visiting!

  • Sandee

    April 2, 2021 at 11:14 am

    I see you and I enjoyed the same cartoons. I don’t get the cartoons that are on now. Nothing beat the cartoons we grew up watching.

    I love your sketches and this is a most fun theme you came up with too.

    Have a fabulous day and weekend, Cathy. Love and hugs. ♥

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 5, 2021 at 9:34 am

      Sandee,

      I know what you mean. The cartoons today seem rather stupid to me. Generally, comedy just isn’t even close to the same caliper of excellence as it was when we were growing up or even in our young adulthood. Comedy writers lack an important ingredient…humor!

  • Thomas Anderson

    April 2, 2021 at 8:02 am

    Hi, Cathy!

    Sorry I’m tardy, dear friend. I’m getting started two hours late this morning because we just recovered from a power outage – an unnerving development seeing as how we are heading into a holiday weekend when service technicians will not be available for house calls.

    Everything’s AOK now and I am ready for Friday Sillies courtesy of Looney Tunes star Bugs Bunny. I would say that the kwafty, wise qwackin’ wabbit was also my favorite character of the Looney Tunes family. I don’t recall him ever having a girlfriend when I watched him in my youth. Lola must have joined the story line after I grew up and stopped watching cartoons, and I don’t remember Honey Bunny because I didn’t read Bugs comics or buy merch. I also don’t recall Clyde Bunny, but if you present a sketch of him maybe I’ll remember. Your pencil drawing of Bugs & Lola brilliantly conveys a sense of motion. Looks like Bugs literally swept Lola off her feet. Thanks for sharing the story about having a pen pal who was closely related to Mel Blanc, the voice actor who brought out Bugs’ snarky personality all those years. I loved Bugs Bunny cartoons because they offered relatively sophisticated dialogue and situations and were laced with topical humor, often referencing famous movie stars or other cultural icons of the period.

    Thanks for displaying your wonderful sketch of Bug & Lola today, dear friend Cathy. I wish you a happy Friday and I hope to see you tamale for “C” Day!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      April 2, 2021 at 10:43 am

      Tom,

      I had hoped to put together a Thursday/Friday combo post of wegular hops but failed on time management. This has been a vewy busy week. Lola Bunny was introduced in the 1996 big screen production Space Jam which we never saw but Lola images are easily found on the net. I updated this post by mentioning that Clyde is Bug’s nephew. I do remember his nephew in cartoons when I was a kid but I couldn’t recall his name. At this time, I don’t have plans to draw Clyde but perhaps after the challenge I might go back to draw those that others throw at me. Thanks for joining in today. I’m happy you’re back on track after having lost your power. That’s a bummer when it happens. Have a joyful Easter weekend, my friend!

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